Fifty years after Sylvester Stallone pulled off one of Hollywood's all-time long shots with "Rocky,” the Oscar-winning star still identifies with the character who, for many, embodies the outsider proving all the naysayers wrong.
But he no longer claims to be an underdog.
"It would be so disingenuous to say you’re an underdog, ‘as he said from his penthouse,’" Stallone said during a recent interview, on a high floor of a luxury Manhattan hotel. "Yeah. Come on. I am a lucky dog.”
Stallone, who turned 80 in July, is among the most successful movie stars and filmmakers in history. He has generated billions of dollars through such blockbuster franchises as "Rocky,” "Rambo” and "The Expendables” and portrayed some of the most memorable film characters. And he is still working, starring as mobster Dwight "The General" Manfredi in the Paramount series "Tulsa King.”
By choice and otherwise, Stallone has been reliving his early years as a struggling actor-writer who somehow convinced United Artists to back his modest story of a journeyman boxer's shot at the heavyweight championship, and even allow him to play the lead despite having little acting experience. His memoir "Steps,” published Tuesday, arrives less than two months before a fictionalized and semi-authorized version of his story, Peter Farrelly's "I Play Rocky," arrives in theaters, with Anthony Ippolito in the starring role. (Farrelly spoke about the film with Stallone, who was otherwise uninvolved.)
"Rocky," which beat out "Taxi Driver” and "All the President's Men” among others to win the best picture Oscar, is one of those classic movies that only seem to benefit from the back story; Stallone's own journey from the streets of Philadelphia to the Oscar stage echoes so well his character's improbable rise.
As he writes in "Steps,” he was a hard-luck case, an unplanned and unwanted child who seemed to face endless discouragement right through the production of "Rocky," when he feared every day on the set might be his last.
Stallone was in Manhattan to promote his book, but spends much of his time at the Palm Beach, Florida, estate he shares with his wife, Jennifer Flavin. Even when – especially when – he's talking about his rare fortune, Stallone speaks in a warm, rumbly, offhand manner, a kind of private street talk that suggests he doesn't believe it all.
During his interview, he also talked about fate, insecurity and why he was probably better off for his unhappy childhood.
Stallone said he had been approached several times over the years to write about his life, but had initially resisted the idea. He described it as an "ambivalent roller coaster ride” that was not always pleasurable. Instead, he wanted to focus on what he is best known for: pulling off what he called a "minor miracle” in 1976, a story that he sees as an inspiration.
Stallone also reflected on why audiences continue to connect with Rocky decades after the film's release. When he sees an 18-year-old posting about the character on TikTok, he said he does not believe they are necessarily relating to an 80-year-old man. "They’re not relating to me. It’s that character,” he said.
Looking back, Stallone considers Rocky’s success "the greatest gift.” He recalled writing the film simply to get some footage of himself and never expecting it to play in more than one or two theaters. The scale of what followed, he said, was "a tsunami of good luck,” adding that Rocky tapped into something he could not take credit for himself.
While writing the memoir, Stallone recalled being 29 and feeling that he was "really at the end of your rope,” with nothing working out. He described an epiphany he had in his backyard while asking for spiritual help; despite having previously avoided relying on faith or a higher power, he said faith returned to him that night.
"And that's why I pay homage in the "Rocky” movie. The first scene is, you know, at 'The Resurrection' (gym). It's amazing we found that place. A boxing club called 'The Resurrection'," he said.
Stallone also said he finds the new film about the making of "Rocky” surreal. Peter Farrelly’s "I Play Rocky,” starring Anthony Ippolito as Stallone, tells a fictionalized version of his journey to getting the original film made. "How strange is this? A movie about me being in a movie,” he said.
He praised Ippolito’s performance and said it was unusual to see a story like his portrayed on screen while he is still alive. He said he had initially had no confidence that the project would work, but Farrelly convinced him that the story could resonate. "Rocky is fiction, this is real,” Stallone said. "And that's what people are holding on to.”